SERMON OUTLINE

The Glory of God

Creation and Man Exalt the Glory of God

Psalm 19.1-6; Psalm 8

Introduction

The ultimate purpose for all that exists is the Glory of God. God’s Glory is His Eternal Being. Jesus Christ expresses and exalts the Glory of God. 

Psalm 19.1-6

-The heavens declare and proclaim to the rest of creation the Glory of God.

-The work of His hands. His knowledge.

-This revelation of God’s Glory is available to everyone.

-Man suppresses the truth of God’s power, knowledge and Sovereignty, worshipping the creature rather than God. Romans 1.19-20

-Creation exalts God and so will all of mankind. 

Psalm 8

-Verse 1: The magnificence of the heavens points to the majesty of God.

-Verse 2: The most vulnerable of creation point to the majesty of God.

-Verses 3-8: The status that God has given to sinful man points to the majesty of God.

-Man/Woman were created in the image of God. Sin has distorted but not removed this image.

-Israel was to display the Glory of God but failed. Isaiah 44.23; 49.3

-All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, yet even in this fallen state man is still an incredible creature showing the image of God and pointing to the Glory of God. Romans 3.23

-In redeemed man the image of God becomes most evident and God is Glorified. Galatians 1.23-24; 1 Corinthians 11.7; 2 Corinthians 3.18.

Conclusion

Creation exalts the Glory of God. Both fallen man and redeemed man exalt the Glory of God. In eternity all of mankind saved and unsaved will exalt the Glory of God

SERMON NOTES

The Glory of God         Hebrews 1.3; John 17.4   

Creation and Man Exalt the Glory of God

-If you are seeking an ultimate purpose for existence, that ultimate purpose is the Glory of God. Everything exists for the Glory of God. Everything begins with God and ends with God and is for the Glory of God. God Himself, and all that God does is His Glory. God’s Glory is His eternal Being, His Holy and Loving character, and the manifestation of His Being and Character to mankind. Last Communion Sunday we saw how Jesus Christ expressed and exalted the Glory of God. This morning I want to take a few minutes to show how creation and man exalt the Glory of God.

-To show how creation and man exalt the Glory of God I am going to focus on two Psalms and the first one is Psalm 19.1-6. [Read]

-In these verses David personifies the heavens as declaring and proclaiming to all the rest of creation the Glory of God. The heavens proclaim the work of the hands of God. As David looked into the starry heavens which were but the work of the hands of God, he knew that God was so much greater than this vast work of the heavens and he glorified God. Today we know so much more of the immensity of space and of the number of stars and planets and galaxies in the heavens. This is the work of the hands of God and they speak even more loudly to us of the Glory of God.

-Day after day the heavens pour forth speech and night after night the heavens display the knowledge of God. As David noticed the patterns of the sunrise and sunsets, the seasons, the movement of the stars, and thought about this amazing complexity, he realized not only the power of God in creation but also the knowledge of God in creation. Again today we know so much more about the physics behind the clock-like movement of the universe and we are amazed how precise and predictable the whole system is. The heavens should cause us to bow down and worship the Glory of God.

-All of the earth has access to the proclamation of the Glory of God in the heavens. There is no speech or language barrier that limits this proclamation. There is no place where the voice that declares the Glory of God in the heavens is not heard. That voice of creation goes out into all the earth and to the ends of the earth calling people to exalt the Glory of God.

-The Sun, the Moon, the multitude of stars, the clouds, the sunrises and sunsets, the wind, the rain the lightning and snow and hail, all of them declare both the power and the knowledge of God in every language and to all people and all of God’s creation is called to exalt the Glory of God.

-Many, many examples could be given of the beauty, creativity, splendor, and power found in creation. There are many radio programs and television channels devoted to the marvels of creation. I am always amazed when I hear of scientists studying for extended periods of time some small facet of animal behavior, like the reproductive cycle of the tsetse fly or the function of certain plant smells. The micro-systems and macro-systems that work together are phenomena which point to the Glory of God and yet mankind refuses to acknowledge God and God’s Glory.

-In Romans 1.19-20, Paul reminds us of this truth, “what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse”. To deny the power of God by exchanging creation by God for evolution, and to deny the Sovereign rule of God and the knowledge of God which is plainly evident in creation, is suppressing the truth and a refusal to acknowledge the Glory of God revealed in creation. God pours out His judgment on those who refuse to acknowledge the plain truth of His Glory revealed in creation, and turn to worship the creature and turn away from the worship of the Creator. There is coming a day when every person will acknowledge God and Glorify God.

-So creation exalts the Glory of God and makes the power and knowledge and Sovereign rule of God plain to everyone.

-Now turn back a few pages to Psalm 8. [Read]

-In verse 1, David gives us his reason for writing this Psalm. David wants to lift up the majesty of God, a majesty which is to be proclaimed in all the earth. David points to the heavens as the work of God’s fingers (verse 5), a sign of God’s power, knowledge and Sovereign rule. The magnificence of the heavens points to the majesty of God. Same idea as in Psalm 19.

-In verse 2, David’s thinking goes in a new direction that again points to the majesty of God. David takes the most vulnerable, the weakest, the most innocent of creation, the little children and infants (NASB nursing babes), and says that God has ordained praise from their lips. The point here is that from both the magnificence of the mighty creation and from the weakness of nursing babes the majesty of God is proclaimed in all the earth.

-Then in verses 3 to 8, David expresses his amazement that this God of majesty with such a magnificent creation would consider sinful man and give man such an important place in His creation. [Read 3 to 8]

-What David is saying is that God’s majesty which is proclaimed in creation, is also proclaimed in man, from the weakness of children who praise Him, to the authority over creation that God has given to mankind.

-Not only does creation exalt the Glory of God but all of mankind also exalts the Glory of God.

-Man and woman were originally created in the image of God with the purpose of reflecting the Glory of God by ruling over God’s creation on His behalf. Even though the image of God in man has now been distorted by sin, man continues to exalt the Glory of God and rule over His creation.

-In the unfolding of Divine history God chose the nation of Israel to display His Glory among the nations of the world. “Sing for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, He displays His Glory in Israel.” “He said to me, ‘You are my servant Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” (Isaiah 44.23; 49.3) As long as Israel was obedient to God, God displayed His Glory through them and showed His Glory on their behalf. When Israel sinned, God judged Israel for their sin and even in His judgment He showed His Glory in the demonstration of His Holiness. God continues to show His Glory to Israel today by sustaining the nation of Israel in the midst of its many enemies. One day soon God will show His mighty Glory in delivering the nation of Israel from certain annihilation.

-We are told in Romans 3.23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. But even in man’s fallen state he continues to express incredible creativity, genius, sensitivity, compassion, resilience, devotion, imagination, ability, and control over creation. Often these expressions of the image of God are used for self-gratification and hurt and ruin other human beings. Man is an incredible creature even though he is severely flawed by sin and in need of God’s redemption in Christ.

-When men and women become believers and are redeemed from sin and are filled with the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit, the image of God becomes more evident in them and continues to grow. It is in the redeemed believer that the Glory of God is most fully seen and exalted.

-So Paul could write in Galatians 1.23-24, “They only heard the report: The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And they praised God because of me”.

-Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 11.7 that “A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God”. And 2 Corinthians 3.18 says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”.

-One day our redemption will be final. We will receive new bodies that will be fully and completely separated from the influence and power of sin. Then mankind will exalt the Glory of God as God should be exalted. Even the wicked who refuse to glorify God now and who will spend eternity in hell will glorify the holiness and the justice of God in God’s judgment upon them.

-The amazing creation around us and the amazement of our humanity even in its fallen condition exalts the Glory of God. How much more will we exalt God when we know and live in new life in Christ.